Hundreds of staff at exam giant AQA will strike for four more days over an ongoing pay row.
Around 400 members of Unison will walk out on Friday after AQA leaders refused to meet for talks to discuss an alleged 10 per cent real-terms cut to staff wages over the last five years.
The union is calling for pay restoration, which it previously said would require a 7.3 per cent rise this year. AQA issued what it described as a “generous” 5.2 per cent average increase instead.
Unison warned the action could cause delays to students receiving their results this summer – but the exam board claimed the series will still be delivered “smoothly”.
Walkouts at AQA HQ
Assessors, exam paper authors and customer service staff will take part in the strikes from June 5 to 8 across three AQA sites, including its Manchester headquarters, as well as its offices in Guildford and Milton Keynes.
The dates have been chosen to disrupt training for examiners planned to take place this weekend.
It follows three days of industrial action last month. Staff have since refused to carry out overtime and on-call work.
Unison claimed that the dispute has so far caused disruption to exam papers being sent out.
‘Affordable and sustainable’
An AQA spokesperson said: “The 5.2 per cent pay settlement is affordable, competitive and sustainable for AQA – bearing in mind the rate of inflation is 2.8 per cent, according to the Bank of England. The union’s claim is flatly wrong: our pay rises in recent years have consistently exceeded inflation.
“AQA is an education charity that doesn’t seek a profit – and yet we have awarded a pay increase in excess of our fee increases, which is a generous approach by any standards.”
They added that Unison was attempting to “alarm” students and parents for its own purposes.
“We will not allow results to be delayed – indeed, we can assure those sitting AQA qualifications that the summer exam series will be delivered smoothly and to the high quality that schools and young people have come to expect from us.”
The exam board’s staff previously went on strike on GCSE and A Level results days in 2022.
‘Little choice’
AQA sets more than half of GCSE and A Level papers taken in England, with about 1.4 million pupils sitting their qualifications every year.
Unison AQA branch secretary Eoin MacGabhann said: “Staff who keep the exam system running and make sure millions of students get accurate results on time deserve to be paid fairly for their work.
“AQA employees have seen the value of their wages slashed in real terms in recent years, while living costs have soared.
“Nobody wants to be on strike, but bosses’ refusal to even talk means workers have been left with little choice.
“Staff know how important this time of year is, but unless AQA is serious about resolving these long-standing issues, further disruption and delays in students receiving grades look likely.”